清靜經

老君曰：

大道無形，　生育天地；

大道無情，　運行日月；

大道無名，　長養萬物。

吾不知其名，　強名曰道。

夫道者，

有清有濁，　有動有靜。

天清地濁，　天動地靜；

男清女濁，　男動女靜。

降本流末，　而生萬物。

清者濁之源，　動者靜之基。

人能常清靜，　天地悉皆歸。

夫人神好清，　而心擾之；

人心好靜，　而慾牽之。

常能遣其慾，　而心自靜；

澄其心，　而神自清。

自然六慾不生，三毒消滅。

所以不能者，

為心未澄，　慾未遣也。

能遣之者，

內觀其心，　心無其心；

外觀其形，　形無其形；

遠觀其物，　物無其物。

三者既悟，　唯見於空。

觀空亦空，　空無所空；

所空既無，　無無亦無；

無無既無，　湛然常寂；

寂無所寂，　慾豈能生？

慾既不生，　即是真靜。

真常應物，　真常得性；

常應常靜，　常清靜矣！

如此清靜，　漸入真道；

既入真道，　名為得道。

雖名得道，　實無所得；

為化眾生，　名為得道。

能悟之者，　可傳聖道。

老君曰：

上士無爭，　下士好爭；

上德不德，　下德執德；

執著之者，　不明道德。

眾生所以不得真道者，　為有妄心。

既有妄心，　即驚其神；

既驚其神，　即著萬物；

既著萬物，　即生貪求；

既生貪求，　即是煩惱。

煩惱妄想，　憂苦身心，

便遭濁辱，　流浪生死，

常沉苦海，　永失真道。

真常之道，　悟者自得。

得悟道者，　常清靜矣！

Lao-Zi’s Teaching on Spiritual Tranquility

Lao-Zi said:

The Great Path is invisible,

but it gives birth to heaven and earth.

The Great Path is impassive,

but it moves moon and stars.

The Great Path is anonymous,

but it nurtures all.

I don't know its name,

so inadequately I named it the “Path”.

The Path is sometimes pure and

sometimes turbid,

sometimes active and sometimes calm;

heaven is pure and earth is turbid,

heaven is active and earth is calm;

male is pure and female is turbid,

male is active and female is calm.

Birth to death cycles, give birth to all.

Purity is the source of turbidity,

activeness is the base of calmness.

If people can always be in the state of

purity and calmness,

heaven and earth will become one

with them.

One’s soul wants to be pure, but one’s mind

disturbs it;

one’s mind wants to be calm, but one’s desires tether it.

Eliminating one’s desires, one’s mind will be

calm;

clearing one’s mind, one’s soul will become

pure;

naturally the desires from the six senses (

sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and feel) will stop emerging,

and the three spiritual poisons (

greed, anger, and infatuation) will vanish.

The reason one is unable to reach this state,

is merely because the mind is not cleared, and desires noteliminated.

For those able to eliminate their desires,

when they look into their minds, there is

nothing;

when they look at their form from the

outside, they see nothing;

when they look at other things from afar, there is nothing to see;

as these three exist no more, there is only

emptiness.

Emptying out even the thought of emptiness,

until there is nothing more to empty out;

as emptiness is eliminated,

the effort to eliminate emptiness is also

eliminated;

as such effort exist no more,

there is pure tranquility and perpetual stillness;

nothing stiller than such stillness,

how can desire emerge?

As desire cannot emerge,

that is real calmness.

Using one’s true being to face life’s encounters,

one realizes the truth,

always remain calm in every encounter,

one achieves the state of purity and calmness.

With such purity and calmness,

one gradually enters into the true Path.

As one has entered into the true Path,

it’s called “Path acquired”.

Although it’s called “Path acquired”,

in reality nothing has been acquired.

It’s called “Path acquired” just so that it is

easier for common people to understand.

Those who are enlightened, may pass on the

knowledge ofThe Sacred Path.

Lao-Zi said:

Highly virtuous people do not vie,

not so virtuous people like to vie.

Highly virtuous people do not see their

virtuous actions as being virtuous,

not so virtuous people advertise their virtuous actions.

Those who insist in their own ways,

do not understand ThePath and its application.

The reason common people cannot find the

true Path,

is because their minds are full of fantasies.

As the mind is full of fantasies, the soul is

disturbed;

as the soul is disturbed, worldly temptations

clung on;

as worldly temptations clung on, greed

emerges;

as greed emerges, there comes the worries.

Worries and fantasies, agonizing the body

and mind,

tarnishing the soul, leading one to wander within cycles of life and death,

and sink into an ocean of misery, losing sight

of the true Path forever.

The true Path can only be realized by the enlightened ones,

those who have achieved enlightenment,

will always be in the state of purity and

calmness.